Philippe Katerine

Philippe Katerine, who performs primarily under the shorter moniker Katerine, is a French alternative singer and songwriter whose initial underground acclaim arrived during the mid-1990s before commercial visibility expanded in later years alongside his rising profile. Born Philippe Blanchard on December 8, 1968, in Chantonnay, Vendée, he issued his first full-length commercial recording in 1991 via the Rosebud imprint, the album Les Mariages Chinois. That home-recorded lo-fi effort, built from minimalist tracks lasting one or two minutes each, exerted considerable influence and received a 1993 reissue expanded with additional material under the title Les Mariages Chinois et la Relecture. The follow-up releases L'Éducation Anglaise (1994), Mes Mauvaises Fréquentations (1996), Les Créatures (1997), and L'Homme à Trois Mains (1999) cemented his standing as a central figure within the French indie pop landscape. A range of collaborations further elevated his profile, most prominently his creation of an entire album for Anna Karina titled Une Histoire d'Amour (2000). Around the turn of the century his audience had expanded sufficiently for regular entries on the French albums chart, a pattern initiated by 8ème Ciel (2002). Widespread recognition arrived in 2005 with Robots Après Tout, which entered the Top 30 of the French albums chart and yielded the Top 40 single “Louxor J'adore.” Powered by the success of “Louxor J'adore” together with the subsequent single “100% V.I.P.,” Robots Après Tout remained on the French albums chart for nearly two years, accumulating 97 weeks in total. Following that breakthrough, Studiolive (2007)—essentially a live-in-the-studio re-recording of Robots Après Tout—appeared in multiple configurations, one edition incorporating an extended DVD. The self-titled 2010 album arrived accompanied by a video for every song, each directed by his friend and bassist Gaëtan Chestnut and merging imagery originated by Katerine with Chestnut’s visual work. Throughout 2011 he pursued a triple-album endeavor alongside a jazz ensemble assembled by saxophonist François Ripoche; the resulting 52 Reprises dans l'Espace contained 52 covers of songs originally performed by artists including Pierre Bachelet and Phenomenal Club. Beyond music, Katerine established a parallel presence as an actor in numerous films after the turn of the century.